I could really use a decent height step ladder that my character can stand on to allow me to look down on some of the new surfaces, like the fireplace. Although it can technically hold items, I'm too short to functionally place anything there. A device that would lift the character up a bit would facilitate decorating some of the furniture more fully.

I would think that cutting off bits of the tree is easy. The hard part is keeping it alive and not killing it.
I think low gardening skill would allow you to harvest the tree but damage it. Once it reaches full decay it "dies" and the planter returns to empty. High gardening skill would allow you to cut without damage or minimal damage and possibly allow a person to "repair" damage much the way water reduces decay on flower planters.

I would love it if we could plant all the different sprouts into planters to get small version of the plant as decorations. I think it would also be a nice use for excess sprouts.
Another idea that could go along with it is the ability to prune the plants for sprouts, much like a bonsai. The mechanic could work like herbs in herb planters except that you harvest sprouts.
I personally would prefer they be decorations that don't need to be tended, but I could also see people wanting bonsai orange trees.

Here's my first entry, depending on how much time we have left, I may add in a second once I can finish decorating.
Shady's Rest - House
Shady Abode - Deed
Release - Server
This deed belongs to Shadyone and I was able to decorate it and submit it here with his permission. :) These images are of the kitchen, breakfast nook, and dinning room. I'll try to hide them in spoiler tags since this thread will probably be pretty picture heavy.
Now the last two images I want to leave are actually just little videos of the small brazier in the dinning room and the fireplace in the breakfast nook. It doesn't showcase much decorating but I think it's very calming to watch. It's nice on an an endless loop. However, I would like to point out how sad it is the the small brazier seems to only come in copper and that it does not have the lighting flicker like the fireplace. Conversely, I like the fire particles from the small brazier more than the ones on the fireplace. It would be nice if the fireplace had a larger version of that fire.
https://imgur.com/fJWKW9D
https://imgur.com/47XlfH4
However, I would like to lodge a "complaint" after doing this competition. These item number and size limits are killing me. ? I had to change up my design several times because the tables did not want to do what I wanted to do.
However, this was a lot of fun and I can't wait until new items are turned into surfaces that can hold items. Plates, bowls, chaise... *nudge* *nudge*

There's hasn't been any limits announced thus far, so I say go for it. I still need to figure out how I am going to format my first entry. I have all the screenshots taken already.
I just noticed, it looks like there's a roll of toilet paper on one of the bookshelves. A necessary thing to pack when out digging at site. What item is that actually?

How long do we have to set up? I got some ideas but I need to balance that with staging time.
Also is it alright to decorate on someone else's behalf and submit their house? With their permission of course. Are there entry limits? Can you only submit one room?

I am so excited about having books in game. I started playing around with them immediately and I noticed some things that may improve the system in the future.
It would be great to have:
The ability to secure books onto the surface they sit on.
Locks that would allow you perms to restrict people from removing pages, read pages, and managing the item. I had an idea to make cookbooks for visitors to my Inn but I don't want them to take out the recipes, read them, and use them up forever.
A multi line inscription display along with the ability to enter in line breaks.
Be able to use a wider selection of characters. For instance, I cannot use question marks in my text right now.
Have rarity affect the number of pages a book can hold and the number of characters a page can hold.
The ability to get an abbreviated preview of the inscribed page when you hover over it with your mouse.
Thanks again for a great update. I will enjoy playing around with the new books to see what I can do with them.

I just love that we finally got books. I almost didn't believe it when I read the patch notes.
However, on the topic of books, could we get a special book page item that allows for more characters on it? Maybe something that will allow you to exceed the limit of your pen. Also, multi line writing ability would be amazing.
While I love the idea of books, it is hard to write less than a tweet's worth of characters per page. I've already started to write my own books, but I can't get chapter 1 in nine pages right now. I'm working on a decorating guide and cookbook. I really hope I can store inscribed recipes in a book.
I really want to start a library of player books on a variety of subjects, but I think we may need more capacity before I can pull that off.
I would appreciate it if we could get more words on a page and bigger display window for that text some time in the future.
________
Edit: Ok, so I can store recipes in a book, and it turns out that pages hate question marks. Commas may also be a character it won't recognize.
[17:24:04] The inscription contains some characters that are too complex for you to inscribe.

Lovely update. I knew there would be more in this update than what had been teased.
Now I need to get decorating and I need to get writing. I want to make a bookshelf of nothing but player books. *dances around happily*
Congrats on making another Anniversary!